All successful CRM projects have a point person within your organization who assists in training and support issues as well as in coordinating information from the client side. The role is so crucial to mutual success that having a designated CRM administrator is a requirement with all projects. The sections below outline the responsibilities of this individual.
What does the term ‘CRM Administrator’ mean?
This is the expression used to define the primary point of contact for training and support issues. Projects follow a train-the-trainer approach, meaning the focus is on developing your administrator and transferring knowledge to that person. This can include setting up users, building reports, and handling practical configuration tasks. Every project has a defined administrator, but how far that individual takes the role depends on the person.
What are the responsibilities of this role?
This individual is responsible for understanding the CRM application at a deeper level than the rest of your users. They help coordinate information and act as the primary point of contact for user questions related to CRM. For example, when user guides are provided at go-live, they commonly direct questions back to your internal CRM administrator.
This video emphasizes the significance of the CRM Administrator role.
What makes a good CRM Administrator?
Reliable, approachable, and consistent are the core traits. While the ideal candidate is computer savvy, this is not primarily a technical role, and it is generally better if the person is not from your IT team but instead holds an in-house administrative role.
How much time is required for this role?
This depends on the size and complexity of the project, but generally the role may require about 8 hours a week for the first couple of months and then less as time goes on.
In a project, how many CRM Administrators are there?
Normally a couple of people within your organization will have administrative rights inside the CRM application, but the focus is on developing only a single person as the defined administrator. If too many people have the role, ownership tends to disappear.
What will this individual be able to do?
While technically there is very little your internal CRM administrator cannot do with administrative rights, in practice some tasks do not happen frequently enough for administrators to stay comfortable doing them. This guideline outlines which tasks your CRM Administrator should be able to do once trained versus what your My CRM Manager project manager normally handles.
Why this is an excellent opportunity for the right person?
Learning how the CRM system works is part of the job, but a bigger part is understanding how your organization works. That includes the needs of specific users, reporting requirements, and how different people and departments interact. Understanding your organization’s information management system can be an empowering role.
What makes for a great CRM Administrator?
Great administrators are organized, thoughtful, and actually want the role. They verify issues submitted by staff before escalating them and, as a bonus, supply pictures or short videos to support the questions or issues they report.
At My CRM Manager, a practical tool used for this is TechSmith Snagit. It supports screen captures and short videos, and it is recommended for clients who need an easy way to document issues and training questions.
Signs of an ineffective Administrator
- Forward issues without first attempting to understand and verify them.
- Do not conduct required testing.
- Do not complete the homework assigned to them.
- Rarely, if ever, submit images and are generally reluctant to do the job.
Warning
An ineffective administrator makes things harder internally as well as for the implementation team. If this person is not approachable or not keen on the job, coworkers become reluctant to ask questions and use the system effectively. An ineffective administrator can inadvertently sabotage your CRM initiative.
What happens if the defined CRM Administrator leaves?
If your designated point person is no longer available for the role, a new one needs to be assigned. Any knowledge transfer already completed with the previous administrator will need to be repeated. If this happens during the initial deployment of CRM, it can negatively affect project timelines.
What if you do not currently have a person for this role?
Our recommendation is that you do not proceed with your CRM initiative until you have such a person available.